Emporia LIFE Plus, TALK Premium and hagenuk fono e100: side by side

Having made it this far, you probably already know that cell phones like these are designed with calls in mind (more than anything else). The fact that there seems to be a logical conformity in the overall functionality with this respect is merely accidental.

The largest of the three, the Emporia LIFE Plus, offers the loudest sound at both ends of the line, but happens to be the worst when it comes to in-call quality. You will understand you callers, although their voices will sound overly sharp and nasal, rather displeasing really.

The Emporia TALK Premium gets the silver and it also delivers sound that packs some punch, plus the in-call quality is better alongside of the LIFE Plus. The excessive sharpness is almost too much to bear though.

The hagenuk fono е100, the smallest of these three, comes off last. Unlike both Emporia models, the compact device proves to be a capable performer, at least in terms of in-call quality. What you can hear on both ends of the line is relatively clear sound and it’s just too bad that it’s too quiet in our own lights. Imagine how the people it’s targeted at would feel when using the handset for calls… By the way, the cell phone offers a special function for people with impaired hearing that allows you to hear your own voice.

All three handsets integrate loudspeakers, although we cannot say they sound any differently. Both Emporia models appear superior to the hagenuk fono e100, because they produce loud sound, even if the quality is far from perfect.

What’s that power cut?

Given the overall functionality of the Emporia LIFE Plus, Emporia TALK Premium and hagenuk fono e100, we did expect them to fare much better in terms of battery performance, at least when used for calls. Here is what the manufacturers claim about their products:

- The Emporia LIFE Plus – equipped with Li-ion 1,200 mAh battery that keeps the device operational for up to 250 hours in standby and provides about 3 hours of continuous talk time.- The Emporia TALK Premium with Li-ion 1,200 mAh battery that keeps the device operational for up to 210 hours in standby and provides about 2.5 hours of continuous talk time.- The hagenuk fono E100 – comes with Li-ion 1,000 mAh battery that keeps the device operational for up to 150 hours in standby and provides about 2.5 hours of continuous talk time.

To put it mildly, we are disappointed at the batteries of the handsets, since we just cannot see what drains them so fast – they all lack 3G, multitasking, color (and touch-sensitive) displays, cameras, Bluetooth… equipped with batteries like these, the cell phones should perform at least twice as good.

Conclusion:

The first thing we thought when we unboxed the Emporia LIFE Plus, Emporia TALK Premium and hagenuk fono e100 was „Oh Dear, this cannot be.” at the sight of the huge keys and strange SOS buttons. However, we are pretty used to ignoring first impressions and not allowing them to influence our opinion. Eventually, we believe these cell phones deserve the attention of the market segment they are aimed at. Come to think of it, most of us have relatives that are advanced in age and might well fall out to be what said people need.

Ultimately, we believe there is market for the three models we reviewed and they will manage to find their own niche in the expanding cell phone universe, because each one of them has its own virtues and demerits (there are no perfect devices). The Emporia LIFE Plus is huge... and it’s got a heart on its back (SOS button); the Emporia TALK Premium lacks such a key, but comes with a writing pad (you literally write using a pen) with enough space for 5 numbers of your choosing and features extremely handy buttons; we like the hagenuk fono e100 best, at least in terms of design and overall appeal, but its unhandy hardware buttons located on either side of the device are rather disagreeable, even if we disregard the overly quiet sound during calls.

We don’t really think one these is vastly superior to the other and there is no clear-cut victor or vanquished here. Still, we admit the Emporia TALK Premium is our favorite, since it appears to be better balanced on the overall.

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